Letter 4: Let's Wrap It Up and Switch Gears

I presented in previous letters that matter is not made of anything solid or tangible but is rather comprised of something that merely manifests itself as such. I am by far not the first one to present such. I have read many of the theories of others regarding this topic, and the more I learn, the stranger things get. Whatever the heck matter “is”, it is some intriguing stuff. Let’s proceed further into what is known.

 

Science has discovered that on the atomic scale, small particles (electrons, etc.) can behave as both a wave and a particle. This means that sometimes they act like marbles traveling through open space and sometimes they act like a wave traveling across the surface of water. This principle is known as duality and is complicated, so I encourage the reader to research it. The efforts that science has made to figure this puzzling characteristic out have yielded fascinating information, and this information is what I would like to focus on in this letter.

 

The Dual-Slit Experiment that was conceived by Thomas Young in the early 19th century and later expanded upon by other physicists such as Niels Bohr, Richard Feynman and others was the first, and to this day is the best experiment related to the topic. It yielded information about matter that is an important piece of the puzzle, yet very strange. Again, to keep this letter short, I will not delve into the ins and outs of the experiment, so I encourage the reader to research it.

 

From this and subsequent experiments, the discovery was made that atomic-sized particles behave as waves until attempts are made to observe them (in the case of this experiment, determine which slit the particle passes through), at which point the particles stop acting like waves and instead act like marbles that appear precisely where the measurement predicts them to be. Thus, it appears that the dual nature that atomic particles exhibit is changed from one state of existence to the other by the act of measurement and observation (known as Collapsing the Wave Function). Efforts to understand and explain this discovery have led to many different theories, none of which have been proven.

 

The Dual-Slit Experiment led to other experiments being conceived and conducted to further explore how human interaction and consciousness affects the behavior of matter. Some examples, though they be experimental and largely unproven are Dr. Masaru Emoto’s ‘Message From Water Experiment’ and the GCP (Global Consciousness Project) being conducted by Princeton University. These types of experiments have further raised questions around the theory, that humans have the ability to influence matter and the outcome of events by means of their observation and consciousness.

 

So let’s review again the topic of matter. If you zoom in on the atomic world, you find nothing tangible but rather vacuum space that appears to the human senses to be solid. If you peer into outer space and consider black holes, you find that independent of how much matter you start with, it can be collapsed all the same into a single point in space that likely has no size. If you consider how matter behaves, you find that it can act like a wave (behaving as if spread across many possible positions) but, if you observe it, it stops doing that and collapses into a single position that is custom fit for you to observe.

 

What are we to make of all of this? We are standing at the door of comprehension, but with our mouths open, afraid to go in. No shortage of opinion or philosophy exists to make heads or tails of it all, and as I have spent time sifting through theories, I have found that many have come so close but then they seem to only be willing to proceed so far. It’s like they turn away or they sit down, not willing to move forward. Why is this? I don’t know, but perhaps it is because they cling to prejudices and preconceived notions too tightly making them unwilling and thus unable to do otherwise. They view everything through the prism of their side of the argument. What argument? Why of course the existence of God, the topic that everything always has and always will hinge on, and the concept of which makes this whole puzzle even more interesting.

 

I will dive into that in my next letter.

 

Until then, 

 

Joshua

Reviews

[Matthew]

I think your righting is much more insightful when you talk about 'intangable' things.
I also think that you need to develop your scientific voice.
I have read about these experiments and theory before and each time they are explained differently and therefor add a little more facination.

The thing about scientific writing, especially when dealing with these subjects, is to be captivating without deviating from the facts.
When you first heard about all this crazy stuff going, what sort of wild thoughts went through your head?
Now convey them.